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It's giving us some extra insight in Shizuku. What she thinks, what she feels, and what's making her tick. There are several scenes with her alone, or with her "on her own" (with Natsuru asleep) which I consider particularly relevant because I would assume that they are _genuine_. Not masked. No scheming or misdirection.

If we concentrate on those, the results are quite interesting:

o We see her humming happily while preparing the bento - she's clearly looking forward to this.

o Even though her "electrocuted lynx" messenger is quite worshipful of her (calling her "Shizuku-sama" - quite a contrast to the messengers of Natsuru and Akane who are pretty disrespectful to their owners), she is not telling him where she's going and what she's going to do. In my interpretation, she's increasingly careful with them, since she's increasingly at odds with the moderators.

o We can see Shizuku's brief disappointed reactions to Natsuru's continued inability to see their date as a real date. However, she always forges on relentlessly with the make-believe charade. Clearly, her approach is to prod/coerce/blackmail Natsuru into "performing" like a boyfriend, and she DOES succeed in making him buy her a present and making him call her "Shizuku" instead of "Kaichou". On the other hand, they're still empty gestures without real meaning behind him - and this is obviously what she's counting on to develop over time. However, the coercion tactics she uses towards Natsuru fuel his resentment, and thus undermine her plan at the same time.

o There is exactly one sequence in which we can see Shizuku struggling with her emotions, and that's after the picnic when she starts to talk about her suspicion that Kaede is in cahoots with the moderators, her unwillingness to submit to more Kämpfer wars now against the white side, and her past (we briefly saw a glimpse of another Kämpfer who will become the key to understandng Shizuku). Other than this sequence, she always maintains full control of herself.

o And what does our bum do? He simply falls asleep ^_^ ... giving us the scene I considered most touching in ep08: Realizing that Natsuru is snoozing while Shizuku is unloading stuff vital to her, she first shows wide-eyed disbelief, but she doesn't get mad, pouts or gives him a piece of her mind, she gives him a resigned, yet kind smile and says "Who are you dreaming of, I wonder? Kaede?" - it shows that she has realized that she DOES like him, and that she forgives him his typical blunders. Without this realization and her caring for him, I do not see how one wouldn't be angry in her shoes.

o One key exchange between them before: Shizuku asks Natsuru _why_ he loves Kaede, and in the end his answer is "you don't need to have a reason to like someone". Here, Shizuku can only agree, noting that it's good that he realizes this (even though he doesn't understand yet that this very line applies to Shizuku, too - see also her jealousy self-remark at the end of ep7).

o Even though it's not directly shown, it is implied by the storytelling and a couple of details: Clearly, Shizuku steals another kiss from the sleeping Natsuru in her lap. This one is just for HER happiness and enjoyment - she fakes ignorance (and sleep of her own) about it when asked by Natsuru.

o Back at home, we see Shizuku eagerly unwrapping the commemorative gift from her "boyfriend", and even though it's merely a disgusting slug-shaped something, she still smiles happily about it.

So, we'll have to sadly conclude that she truly HAS feelings for him (they're not fake, or the result of scheming/planning/deceiving), and we'll have to see how many years it takes before Natsuru notices this fact. In the meantime, his natural ignorance and thickness combined with his hardwired loyalty to Sakura only make him all the more appealing a target to Shizuku, who is clearly a stranger to defeat. My my ^_^;

@Mentar:
Miria= Shizuku? I don't see it, but okay. I might be proven wrong later.

The resemblances I see:

o Very smart and levelheaded

o Concentrated on the big picture

o Motivated by a drive for personal revenge

o Strongest fighter in their group

o Most experience by far

These should be uncontested. The next ones include my readings, but I think there are sufficient bits of evidence to support these conclusions:

o Accepted as inofficial leader (at least, they were willing to accept her directions)

o Extending protection to other group members, trying to keep them alive (this one may be questionable to you, but her intervention to stop the Mikoto fight is indicative: Stopping the fight and having them untransform. Or her fending off of Rika)

Naturally, there are various differences too. Miria is deadpan serious, while Shizuku is mischievous-playful, for example. But her roles in the big picture look very similar to me.

very nice avies lummie. i though such facial expressions for shizuku were highly unlikely. she looks even better when she acts normal without that usual hint of thinking of the next way to pick on natsuru.

oh my freaking god. i wanted to burn something during this. perhaps its because i haven't watched a show with a dense protag in a while.. but seriously, this takes it to a new level. like i understand the crush aspect where he likes her for no apparent reason, but when theres so many other possibilities, it pains me.

Location: Where there are no mallets or tentacles.... and the female cast of Tenjou Tenge is mine, all mine!

Age: 31

Quote:

oh my freaking god. i wanted to burn something during this. perhaps its because i haven't watched a show with a dense protag in a while.. but seriously, this takes it to a new level. like i understand the crush aspect where he likes her for no apparent reason, but when theres so many other possibilities, it pains me.

Mikoto won this ep

Yeah....but as you've seen, his mind is Kaede centralized, but we're seeing a little glimmer of hope in the clouds a that he can be deterred. That's something right? Seriously though, Mikoto's tears should have woken him up. She is pretty darn awesome.

omg Natsuru that bastard as if not be satisfied after going on a date with Shizuka I feel so sorry for Shiizuka.... Man he should seriously consider dumping sakura and go for Shizuka what a dumbass.....

I kind of think of Natsuru's density as karmic justice. Shizuku's feelings may be honest, but you can't deny that she made a pretty bad first impression on him and even her actions after that have always been as a "manipulator". It's no surprise that he takes nothing she says at face value and can't even imagine the idea that she seriously likes him. She dug her own grave here.